FlyingIrishman
As a fellow flying part-irishman (which means I understand the accent thing) here is a couple of rules on pronounciation which might help you to be understood.
The letter H is always silent.
When the letter L appears twice (for example: pollo) you pronounce a letter Y sound, to get 'poyo.'
Sound out everything you see, eg: restaurante becomes 'res-ta-oo-ran-te.'
There are no 'zee' sound in Spanish, only crisp 's' sounds, like the one at the start of the english word escape.
That's all I can remember from my twice weekly lessons here on the Costa Del Sol. You'll have to wait 'till next week for any more from me.
Muchos saludos
Dan Coughlan